If you’ve been watching the European 2008 Championship, you have to be pinching yourself. With all the games widely available to an American audience on ESPN and ABC, the action could not be more suited for action starved American sports fans. After Germany’s drubbing of Portugal in the first game 3-1, we’ve had nothing but overtime games, two of which went to a shoot out. Plus, many of the games have been dramatic comebacks (see any Turkey game). ESPN ran a statistic that said of the sixty-eight goals scored thus far, eighteen of those have come after the 85th minute. The semifinal matches are as follows:

Wednesday June 25: Germany vs. Turkey
Thursday June 26: Russia vs. Spain
Sunday June 29: Championship game in Vienna, Austria

There are plenty of injuries and suspensions that may affect one or both of these games. Keep up with who’s in and who’s out here. For now, let’s hand out some awards from the quarterfinal round:

Overachievers: The Euro 2008 Youth Movement

So many younger players are making names for themselves, and the players who were thought to dominate seem to be remiss. Spain’s Fernando Torres has taken a back seat to David Villa, Michael Ballack does not seem to be producing as expected (one goal off of a free kick), and the self-proclaimed world’s best, Cristiano Ronaldo, failed to advance his very talented team to the semifinals. Nevertheless, this has been a great championship because there are plenty of new players on this novice’s list to watch when league play starts back in August. Should make for a good article.

Underachievers: Group Winners

Croatia, Portugal, and Netherlands all won their respective groups, but lost their quarterfinal matches. Almost as quickly as the Dutch caught fire, they fizzled out against a young Russian team that looked more like the Oranje with crisp passes and a relentless attack on goal. It’s hard to blame Portugal because they did lose to Germany, a favorite to win and a world power when it comes to soccer. Cristiano Ronaldo will have to wait two more years to answer the international critics in the 2010 World Cup. One has to wonder what the deal is with the Portuguese – all that talent and nothing to show. Sad to see the Clipboard’s adopted team, Croatia, lose a stunner to Turkey.

Player of the Week: Andrei Arshavin, Russia

After serving a two game suspension at the start of the tournament, has come on strong for the Russians by scoring the game winner against Sweden and also scoring against Netherlands in the quarterfinals. His play has seemed to further validate his greatness achieved with his club, Zenit St. Petersburg, which won its first European trophy this past year by defeating Rangers Glasgow in the UEFA Cup Final. If this is in fact a youth movement of sorts, then the twenty-seven year old Arshavin is the vanguard. I hope he leaves Zenit and signs with a bigger club over the summer so we can watch him more closely. More on Arshavin’s play here.

Goal of the Week: Semih Şentürk Turkey versus Croatia

As a substitute, Semih scored in stoppage time at the end of the second overtime. He was able to squeeze it through two defenders and go near post. Not much space at all, as you can see here. The question for Turkey now is can Semih do it for ninety minutes; he will be starting in place of the injured Turkey striker Nihat Kahveci.

Save of the Week: Rüştü Reçber penalty kick save to assure Turkey’s win versus Croatia

Maybe not the best save of these quarterfinals, but certainly a memorable onefor Turkish fans. We do need to consider this: Recber has appeared in more games (117) for Turkey than any other player and he wasn’t even supposed to play in this European Championship. The starting goalkeeper, Volkan Demril, is currently serving a two game suspension after being red carded against Czech Republic.

Game of the Week: Spain versus Italy 0-0 regulation and extra time, Spain wins 4-2 on penalties

Once again Euro saved the best for last this week. This game had all the action without the goals. There were plenty of shots (a total of nine on target, Spain alone had fifteen sail wide) and some great defending, especially by Italy. Both goalkeepers made saves late in the game to push for extra time. Iker Casillas came out of the shootout as the hero and seems to be in top form going into the semifinal match against Russia.

We are almost to the quarterfinals and here is what we know: The defending champions (Greece) are out. Croatia, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain have won their groups and are in. Turkey finished second in Group A, which means they will face Croatia on Friday 6/20 in the quarterfinals. And there is a chance neither recent World Cup finalist (Italy and France) makes it out of group play. There are plenty more scenarios to be played out that we cannot possibly know until after today, so let’s dish out some accolades for the first week.

Overachievers: Croatia and Netherlands

Now I know that Netherlands is an old world power when it comes to football, which shouldn’t really qualify them to be overachievers for winning their group. But come on! They are in the proclaimed “Group of Death” with both World Cup finalists (Romania is no slouch either). What did they do? Gave Italy their worst defeat in twenty-five years (3-0) and made France look downright silly (4-1), scoring their third goal less than a minute after France’s lone goal. They’ve won Group C and can rest against Romania on Tuesday 6/17. In my neophyte-like preview, I neglected to mention Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is closing in on the all-time Dutch scoring record (Oh yes – the title of this blog will often ring true). He scored the first goal against Italy and got the ball rolling.

Croatia has lived up to their dark horse label, especially playing without their top goal scorer from qualifying, Eduardo da Silva. After a questionable second half performance against host Austria, they defeated what seemed to be everyone’s favorite entering the tourney, Germany (2-1). They were the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals and can rest their players against Poland today. I have personally enjoyed the play of midfielder Luka Modric, who has signed a deal to play with Tottenham in the Premier League next season.

Underachievers: Greece, defending European champions and 10 qualifying wins

I’ve learned what defensive football is all about by watching highlights from the 2004 Euro where Greece did the improbable (For those who do not know, they defeated Portugal in the championship that year 1-0 despite being out shot 17-4). I’ve also learned that you can only advance if you can produce a few goals of your own. Greece in the first two games? 0 goals. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Their 1-0 theory worked in 2004 but has earned them an early exit in 2008, guaranteeing a new European champion.

Player of the Week: David Villa (Spain)

Villa has four goals in two games, including a hat trick against Russia and the game winner in stoppage time against Sweden to assure Spain all three points. And he’s done all of this with a severely bruised thigh.

Goal of the Week: Arjen Robben (Netherlands) vs. France

Not only was it a beautiful goal squeezed through only inches of space, but it was also the backbreaker for the French. This came less than one minute after Thierry Henry’s goal made it 2-1 and breathed some new life into France and their fans. You could almost hear the French’s hopes deflate after Robben’s brilliance made it 3-1.

Save of the Week: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) vs. Romania off a penalty kick

How often do you see a goalie make that kind of save on a penalty kick? Plus, since they tied 1-1, that save is the only thing keeping the World Cup champions alive.

Call of the Week: Netherlands vs. France

“Well – if this is a Dutch oven, the French are toast.”

Game of the Week: Turkey defeats Czech Republic 3-2 (winner advanced to quarterfinals)

This is the type of game that people should watch who condescendingly state, “Soccer is so boring. They pass the ball around for ninety minutes just to tie.” The Czechs went up 2-0 into the 70th minute. The comeback began in the 72nd minute with Arda Turan scoring Turkey’s first goal. On a Turkish cross in the 87th minute, Czech goalie Petr Cech mishandled the ball and Nihat found himself as the benefactor, punching it through to tie the game 2-2. Two minutes later, Nihat again slipped through the defense and scored a beautiful goal off of the crossbar to put Turkey ahead 3-2. The goals ceased but the action didn’t. After punching away a shot, Turkey’s goalie Volkan Demirel shoved Czech’s Jan Koller to the ground while the referee was watching. The ref pulled out his red card and dismissed Demirel. The Turks, however, already used all of their substitutions. Tuncay Sanli decided to take one for the country. The 5’11” 154-pound Sanli put on the 6’3” 200+ pound Demirel’s jersey and gloves. As he stood in goal, Sanli looked like a six-year-old in his first youth soccer match. At the perfect time, the camera cut to him as he clasped his now oversized gloved-hands together, looked towards the sky, and said a prayer – so far my greatest moment from the tournament. When the final whistle blew, tears poured from Czech Republic’s all-time leading scorer, Koller, as he acknowledged the Czech fans. Tears also poured from the Turkish coach who was obviously in a state of disbelief. Turkish fans rejoiced and Czech fans hung their heads in sorrow. As Jim McKay said each week on The Wide World of Sports, this was the quintessence of “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

For those of you like me who are experiencing their first Euro, I’m sure you’re also wondering what happens next. Russia and Sweden will wrap up group play on Wednesday 6/18. The quarterfinals will begin on Thursday 6/19 and will pair group winners with the runner-up from the adjacent group (i.e. Group A winner will play Group B runner-up and Group B winner will play Group A runner-up; winners from these games will face in the semifinals). At this point it becomes single elimination. I originally thought that teams were then reseeded after quarterfinals, but apparently it remains like a bracket. I guess this partially explains why I picked three members from Groups C and D to advance to the semifinals, which I now realize is an impossible scenario. The championship (Sunday June 29) will pit the winner from Groups A and B and the winner from Groups C and D.

Some links to keep you updated:

Match Schedule

Match Highlights (videos)

GROUP C

Romania

Unfortunately, Romania has drawn the two World Cup finalists, Italy and France, in Group C. I don’t think Romania will finish ahead of Netherlands. Romania finished behind the Czechs and Dutch in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and had a number of tournament disappointments before that. I don’t foresee the ’08 Euros being much different for the Romanians. On the other hand, they finished atop their qualifying group and had some lopsided victories. If Romania advances out of Group C, it will be well earned and certainly move them way up the international rankings.

Italy

The World Cup Champions are the favorite and have the best team. Italy is extremely balanced all over the pitch, with a host of international stars on either end. Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) will play up front. Daniele De Rossi (Roma) had a phenomenal season in Serie A and will probably merit the most attention in the midfield. The Italian defense is perhaps the most solid, with Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona) and World Cup hero Gianluigi Buffon in goal (Juventus). Unfortunately, captain Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid) is out with an ankle injury. The defense gave up nine goals in qualifying, but three of those were in a loss to France. Their struggles against France during qualifying (3-1 loss and 1-1 draw) may cause some critics to overanalyze, but I think those games may have rekindled a desire recently quenched by World Cup glory. Italy’s critics are also pointing out that they are the oldest team, but such a stat walks a fine line between “old and weary” and “experienced.” This Italian team appears to be on the side of experienced.

France

World Cup runner-up, Les Bleus, boast the most impressive roster: Forwards Thierry Henry (Barcelona) and Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea); midfielders Claude Makele (Chelsea), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), and captain Patrick Vieira (Inter Milan); defender William Gallas (Aresenal) and a host of others from French power club Lyon. Success has come for most of these players in the Zinedine Zidane era. They won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000. But the now infamous Zidane head butt seems to be a plague hanging over their heads. They have dropped to seventh in international rankings and struggled mightily to qualify. They lost twice to a much weaker but seemingly more spirited Scotland National team nearly giving away second place in the process, while also defeating and drawing with Italy, finishing only two points ahead of the Scots to secure their bid. Recent history would make the French an easy choice to advance and contend for the title. However, Group C is hands down the toughest competition. The key to Les Bleus success? Their performance against the Netherlands. They must win against Netherlands (Fri. June 13). If not, they face Italy next (Tues. June 17) and may be facing a deficit too big to overcome. The French not make it out of pool play? It could happen if they overlook Romania or Netherlands.

Netherlands

The Dutch have an opportunity to play spoiler in Group C by challenging either France or Italy. An ankle injury has Ryan Babel (Liverpool) officially out but may give more time to Celtic forward Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. Despite finishing three points behind fellow Group C competitor, Romania, in the qualifying round, Netherlands is still the better team. With EPL talent like Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), I anticipate them to finish ahead of Romania. The big question will remain: can they sneak into that second spot ahead of either France or Italy? It’s a tall task but certainly a capable one for the Dutch.

Moving on: Italy and France

GROUP D

Sweden

Currently ranked twenty-third in the world, the Swedes appear to be overachieving. They’ve also drawn a pretty tough group with Russia, Spain, and defending champ Greece. Not helping things, they have been pretty inconsistent in recent friendlies, losing to the United States 2-0 and Ukraine 1-0. Sweden might consider it a success to finish ahead of Russia.

Greece

The defending European champions ran away from Turkey and Norway in the qualifying round by winning ten games and losing only once. Greece also benefited by beating up on the likes of Malta and Bosnia. Conversely, they did take a 4-1 beating from Turkey and struggled against a weak Bosnian team, eventually winning 3-2. A recent friendly loss to Hungary (3-2), a team that has been playing terrible, makes me question the preparedness of the Greeks. Have they become a little too comfortable with recent successes? Possibly. The championship is still theirs until someone dethrones them. They should get out of Group D – that is, unless, the young Russian squad continues to play with loads of confidence.

Spain

Spain’s disappointments in international competition have been plentiful as of late. With that, it seems like all the critics have already written them off. They drew a decent qualifying round group of fellow Euro qualifier Sweden, along with Ireland and Denmark. Despite that, Spain finished with eight wins and one draw following two early losses to Sweden and Ireland. Fernando Torres (Liverpool), to me, is the hottest striker in the world right now. Torres challenged Cristiano Ronaldo for the Golden Boot (top EPL goal scorer), which is impressive considering Ronaldo gets virtually every free kick for United while Torres watched Steven Gerrard take most for Liverpool. Torres is a phenomenal finisher around the goal and seems to make contact with even the most misguided crosses. Spain is not a one-man team and in fact, may be the most explosive with the likes of David Villa (Valencia) and David Silva (Valencia). Their recent friendly against the U.S. National team has me questioning their midfield play. No use in having great strikers if your midfield can’t advance the ball. Perhaps everyone writing Spain off will be motivation enough to win Group D and propel them to the final.

Russia

As the youngest team in the tournament, they have their work cut out for them. Even though Sweden is up-and-down, they are more experienced than Russia in the past few years. I’m still shocked that England could not defeat Croatia in the final qualifying game, thus allowing Russia to sneak in. Hope they enjoy their time, because these other three teams will probably look to take advantage of their inexperience.

Moving on: Spain and Greece

Semifinals: Spain, France, Portugal, Italy

Championship: Spain defeats Portugal 2-1

GROUP A

Turkey

According to many sources, the most coveted forward in European topflight football this summer is Nihat Kahveci (Villareal). Apparently he will be signing elsewhere this summer and has his pick of many takers. The qualifying round gave an impressive 4-1 victory over defending champ, Greece. They were neck-and-neck with Norway with two games left, and stepped up by defeating them 2-1 and qualifying by a point. Unlike some other teams, they don’t seem to disappear when facing Europe’s best. That competitive nature will bode well for the Turks and may be enough to carry them into the next set of fixtures.

Switzerland (automatic bid for being host country)

The Swiss have a better chance than fellow host, Austria, but ultimately will take a bow after group play.

Czech Republic

The Czechs will be playing without Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal), their best all around player. They lose not only shots on goal, but also their best passer and craftiest fielder. I don’t know if one man can bring a team down, but it does appear that the Czechs without Rosicky will need someone to step up. They still have a formidable goalie in Petr Cech (Chelsea); he remains their hope in stifling the skilled attackers of Portugal and Turkey.

Portugal

Definitely the most attractive pick to win thanks to Christiano Ronaldo (Manchester United). He is sweeping through the accolades, team and individual. But the soccer world is lauding over the Portuguese defense. This makes Portugal very, very interesting. If their defense can keep them in games, Portugal’s offense does possess more than just Ronaldo. Forward Ricardo Quaresma (Porto) has a powerful foot and Nani (Manchester United) is an explosive substitute who can get that late goal. One has to wonder when Portugal’s time will come because they appear on the brink of international success. They reached the finals of the 2004 Euro championship and recently had an impressive World Cup before losing to Germany in the third place game, 3-1. They have gained more international experience in this century than it seems in the whole twentieth century and only seem to be improving. If the offense can help Ronaldo with some timely goals, this may be Portugal’s time to step into the spotlight.

Moving on: Portugal and Turkey

GROUP B

Austria (automatic bid for being host country)

With a current ranking of 101st in the world, Austria is just happy to be hosting.

Croatia

Croatia capped off an impressive qualifying round by eliminating England, 3-2. I believe captain Niko Kovac (Red Bull Salzberg) was the leading scorer from the qualifying round with ten goals. Since he is a defensive midfielder, you have to wonder if Croatia has the scoring capability to compete with Germany and Poland. They did score five goals against England and four against an upstart Israeli team. Besides those games, and thirteen goals against winless Andorra, they appear to be more of a defensive team, which they’ll need against the power of Germany. Their fate will come down to how they fare against Poland, who most people are saying is a shoe-in for second place in Group B.

Germany

Germany has the tradition. Michael Ballack (Chelsea) is sure to provide some goals, especially off of free kicks. Apparently the German manager has the most experienced strikers of any other team, many of which hail from Germany’s own Bundesliga. Proof can be seen in their whopping 35 goals in qualifying. Ah – but wait just a second. Twenty-three of those goals came against San Marino (13-0, 6-0) and Cyprus (4-0), two teams who combined for eighteen losses in qualifying. That leaves only twelve goals against the rest. And out of all the ’08 Euro teams, The Germans have the most eyebrow-raising games from the qualifying round. Games to ponder: Wales 0-0, Ireland 0-0, Cyprus 1-1, Ireland 1-0 (Germany won), and a 3-0 loss to Czech Republic. Very, very disturbing scores if you’re a German fan. Besides, “firepower” flirts too much with bad luck. Shots can sail wide, crossbars appear to move, and even the most stagnant defense suddenly seems spry. Nonetheless, Germany will probably survive group play and perhaps gain some confidence going into the next fixtures.

Poland

People are saying that Poland has the “best form” out of any team in the championship. They finished a point ahead of Portugal in qualifying, but to me, benefited from Portugal’s inability to finish teams off (Portugal totaled six draws in qualifying). They did beat Portugal but lost to Finland, 3-1, and lowly Armenia, 1-0. Poland will have to make sure beat Austria, then at least draw against Croatia.

Moving on: Germany and Poland

Groups C and D coming on Saturday.

GROUP A

Turkey

According to many sources, the most coveted forward in European topflight football this summer is Nihat Kahveci (Villareal). Apparently he will be signing elsewhere this summer and has his pick of many takers. The qualifying round gave an impressive 4-1 victory over defending champ, Greece. They were neck-and-neck with Norway with two games left, and stepped up by defeating them 2-1 and qualifying by a point. Unlike some other teams, they don’t seem to disappear when facing Europe’s best. That competitive nature will bode well for the Turks and may be enough to carry them into the next set of fixtures.

Switzerland (automatic bid for being host country)

The Swiss have a better chance than fellow host, Austria, but ultimately will take a bow after group play.

Czech Republic

The Czechs will be playing without Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal), their best all around player. They lose not only shots on goal, but also their best passer and craftiest fielder. I don’t know if one man can bring a team down, but it does appear that the Czechs without Rosicky will need someone to step up. They still have a formidable goalie in Petr Cech (Chelsea); he remains their hope in stifling the skilled attackers of Portugal and Turkey.

Portugal

Definitely the most attractive pick to win thanks to Christiano Ronaldo (Manchester United). He is sweeping through the accolades, team and individual. But the soccer world is lauding over the Portuguese defense. This makes Portugal very, very interesting. If their defense can keep them in games, Portugal’s offense does possess more than just Ronaldo. Forward Ricardo Quaresma (Porto) has a powerful foot and Nani (Manchester United) is an explosive substitute who can get that late goal. One has to wonder when Portugal’s time will come because they appear on the brink of international success. They reached the finals of the 2004 Euro championship and recently had an impressive World Cup before losing to Germany in the third place game, 3-1. They have gained more international experience in this century than it seems in the whole twentieth century and only seem to be improving. If the offense can help Ronaldo with some timely goals, this may be Portugal’s time to step into the spotlight.

Moving on: Portugal and Turkey

GROUP B

Austria (automatic bid for being host country)

With a current ranking of 101st in the world, Austria is just happy to be hosting.

Croatia

Croatia capped off an impressive qualifying round by eliminating England, 3-2. I believe captain Niko Kovac (Red Bull Salzberg) was the leading scorer from the qualifying round with ten goals. Since he is a defensive midfielder, you have to wonder if Croatia has the scoring capability to compete with Germany and Poland. They did score five goals against England and four against an upstart Israeli team. Besides those games, and thirteen goals against winless Andorra, they appear to be more of a defensive team, which they’ll need against the power of Germany. Their fate will come down to how they fare against Poland, who most people are saying is a shoe-in for second place in Group B.

Germany

Germany has the tradition. Michael Ballack (Chelsea) is sure to provide some goals, especially off of free kicks. Apparently the German manager has the most experienced strikers of any other team, many of which hail from Germany’s own Bundesliga. Proof can be seen in their whopping 35 goals in qualifying. Ah – but wait just a second. Twenty-three of those goals came against San Marino (13-0, 6-0) and Cyprus (4-0), two teams who combined for eighteen losses in qualifying. That leaves only twelve goals against the rest. And out of all the ’08 Euro teams, The Germans have the most eyebrow-raising games from the qualifying round. Games to ponder: Wales 0-0, Ireland 0-0, Cyprus 1-1, Ireland 1-0 (Germany won), and a 3-0 loss to Czech Republic. Very, very disturbing scores if you’re a German fan. Besides, “firepower” flirts too much with bad luck. Shots can sail wide, crossbars appear to move, and even the most stagnant defense suddenly seems spry. Nonetheless, Germany will probably survive group play and perhaps gain some confidence going into the next fixtures.

Poland

People are saying that Poland has the “best form” out of any team in the championship. They finished a point ahead of Portugal in qualifying, but to me, benefited from Portugal’s inability to finish teams off (Portugal totaled six draws in qualifying). They did beat Portugal but lost to Finland, 3-1, and lowly Armenia, 1-0. Poland will have to make sure beat Austria, then at least draw against Croatia.

Moving on: Germany and Poland

Groups C and D coming on Saturday.